Abstract
Laboratory experiments have been performed to determine the rate of solution and the change in composition of air bubbles in stirred sea water as a function of depth (0-200 m) and temperature (1-27° C). At each depth the shrinking of the diameter is nearly linear. This rate of solution increases with increasing pressure up to a limiting value which is almost reached at a depth of 20 m. The rate of disappearance of a bubble is only imperceptibly influenced by temperature. When a bubble of air dissolves at a given depth it becomes richer in nitrogen until a final constant composition is reached. This final nitrogen percentage increases with increasing depth. Equations have been developed, based on the theory of diffusion, which satisfactorily account for the observed facts.
Recommended Citation
Wyman, Jeffries, P. F. Scholander, G. A. Edwards, and L. irving. 1952. "On the stability of gas bubbles in sea water." Journal of Marine Research 11, (1). https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/journal_of_marine_research/758